FALL 2015

Description: This course continues in second semester as ENGL1094
This course offers beginners an enjoyable introduction to the language and culture of Ireland. We'll learn how to speak Gaelic and read modern Irish texts and poetry. And we'll examine major themes in Irish history and culture associated with the rise and fall of the language over its long history. This courses count towards your Irish Studies minor, and one towards your English major. In the Spring semester, you can build on what you?ve gained and, if you wish, satisfy the Arts & Sciences language requirement by completing the four-course cycle the following year.
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Description:
This is a continuing course in modern Irish for those with a basic knowledge of the language. We'll emphasize the ability to read contemporary literature in various genres. Texts from a variety of authors and historical periods allow students to taste different writing styles: contemporary fiction, journalism, literary criticism, historical and cultural texts, while we enjoy Irish-language short films and videos.___________________________________________________________

Description: Fulfills the pre-1900 requirement.
This class examines novels written about Ireland or by Irish authors during the Victorian period. It touches on issues such as the possession of land and relations between landlords and tenants, before and after the land war of the 1880s the dynamics of rural society; Gothic and allegory in writing; realism in fiction; social satire and urban fiction; women novelists and the New-Woman Novel. The late nineteenth century has often been thought of as the great period for the novel in Britian and Europe. However, until recently, Irish novels from this period have been neglected for a variety of reasons, including the hostilitiy of the Irish Revival and late twentieth-century literary criticism. Recently, however, there has been renewed interest in Irish Victorian fiction and it can open many opportunities for exciting research to scholars at all levels, including undergraduates. The class offers students the chance to write a research paper of significant length and depth.

Description: Fulfills the pre-1700 requirement.
This course will explore the vernacular heroic literature of the insular Celts, that is, the Irish and the Welsh. Particular attention will be paid to the effect of Christian transmission on pagan source material, mythological survivals, the heroic worldview and value system, the nature of insular Celtic kingship, and the role of women in the heroic literature.
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Description:
What? says Alf. Love, says Bloom. I mean the opposite of hatred. Love of country? Amor Matris? Hatred of injustice? Some transcendent romantic love? In the company of James Joyce, we'll tease out such questions, flying by the nets of language, religion, and in this centenary year of Ireland's bolt for independence, nationality. Joyce's troubled community imagining itself into nationhood presents a lens for us to explore Modernism, World Wars, the emasculated subaltern, and the metrocolonial dilemma. Concentrating on Ulysses, we'll question the contradictions in Joyce's lonely life of creation, and in his passionate works of near infinite depth.
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Description:
As Seamus Deane asserts, "Ireland is the only Western European country that has had both an early and a late colonial experience." This course spans the major cultural and historical moments and surveys the associated literary production connecting these experiences: from the Elizabethan plantations to post-independent Ireland's decolonization. The main objective is to evaluate how Irish culture manifests and/or resists the colonial encounter.
Particular attention is paid to the issues of language and authority, and to representations of place, gender, and identity. Students engage with a wide variety of writers and cultural critics.
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Description:
Covering the broad sweep of Irish history from ancient Celtic times until the present; no prior knowledge is presumed. Topics include: the coming of Christianity; the various invasions by the 'Danes', and the Normans; relations between the various groups in Ireland in the high Middle Ages; the Reformation; the movement from Lordship to Kingship; and the attempts to impose Protestantism on the country. We will examine the role of Cromwell and William III, the Penal Laws, rebellion, Ireland?s position in the United Kingdom, partition, sectarianism and the most recent Troubles ending with the Good Friday Agreement and the Celtic Tiger.
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Description:
This course will explore in detail the origins of the political crisis in Northern Ireland. Particular attention will be paid to political, economic and social developments in the province. The turbulence of the last 28 years and the peace process which has successfully produced the landmark "Good Friday Agreement" will be examined. The course will consider the challenges that remain for the new Northern Ireland Assembly and how that body will function within Northern Ireland and work with the British and Irish governments.
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Description:
1916 marks the 100-year anniversary of the Easter Rising that began Ireland's struggle for independence and the fateful Battle of the Somme that witnessed the decimation of the 36th Ulster Regiment during WW I. Both events proved seminal within a divided Ireland and both were defined as "blood sacrifices." The goal of this course is to explore the contested history of Ireland and Britain by focusing on these events and the commemorations that will mark the upcoming centenary. An interdisciplinary course, we will work with Philosophy and Studio Art.

Description: Not open to students who have taken HS 115.
The course will focus on the social and economic determinants of Irish political history during the early Penal era, the Age of Revolution, the struggle for Catholic Emancipation, and the mid-century crisis. Themes explored will include economic development, sectarianism, republicanism, colonialism, and women's studies.
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Description:
During the era under consideration Ireland experienced dramatic, and often violent, social and political change. Major events included the emergence of a sectarian based legal system, colonial nationalism, and Republicanism. Major events of the period include the Cromwellian conquest and plantation, the Williamite civil war and settlement, the Revolution of 1798, the Act of Union, Catholic Emancipation, and the social and economic crisis that would culminate in the Great Famine. This course will explore the narrative of these events, and the ways in which historians and others have understood them.

Description: Performance course
Learn to read and play the basic airs and dance music of Ireland on tin whistle. At the end of the course, students will have the opportunity to perform in concert with the advanced fiddle and whistle students. Lessons are taught by Jimmy Noonan, a well-known and respected Irish tin whistle and flute player and teacher. Any make of D-major tin whistle is required and are available for purchase locally at a nominal cost. A portable recording device is required. Fall participants may continue in spring semester, but new students may not enroll in spring semester. ______________________________________________________________

Description: Performance course
For students who have taken a full semester of Beginner Tin Whistle or who have at least one year's experience playing flute. The class will help students develop whistle playing while learning more advanced Irish tunes with beginning ornamentation common to Irish music. Lessons are taught by Jimmy Noonan, a well-known and respected Irish tin whistle and flute player and teacher. Any make of D-major tin whistle is required and are available for purchase locally at a nominal cost. A small tape recorder is required.
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Description: This course will introduce students to the traditional dances of Ireland, including solo step dance footwork and group set and caili dances. The class will include warm-ups, technique, and choreography, as well as occasional short readings, video viewings, and music listening exercises. Students will gain an understanding of Irish traditional musical rhythms, while physically embodying their intrinsic connection to the dance patterns. An uplifting and invigorating class. All levels are welcome.
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Description: Performance course.
For students who have taken a full semester of Beginner Irish Fiddle (MU 051) or have at least one year's experience playing the violin. This class will help students continue in the development of violin technique. Students will learn more advanced Irish dance tunes with some beginning ornamentation (bowing and fingering). Students may take the experienced beginner class for more than one semester until they feel ready to move to the Intermediate level. Violin rentals are possible. A small portable recorder is required. Fall participants may continue in spring semester, but new students may not enroll in spring semester.________________________________________________________________

Description: Performance course.
For students who have at least three years experience playing the violin (classical or traditional Irish) or who have taken the Experienced Beginner class (MUSP 1615) and who the instructor feels is ready for the intermediate level. Traditional music will be taught with a focus on ornamentation, bowing, and style. Airs and dance music of Ireland will be covered along with music of the ancient Bardic harpers and court musicians. Violin rentals are possible. A small portable recorder is required.
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